Love and Loss
by DaughterofApollo13
Summary: The worst part about being a hunter is that we still feel love, we just can't do anything about it. Thalia reflects on her feelings for Luke. WRITTEN FOR BLUE'S CHALLENGE. One-shot


Hello people! Alright so I wrote a one- shot for BLUE'S CHALLENGE presented by **Blue Truth. **So this is about Thalia reflecting on her feelings for Luke. Yeah so READ IT!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own Thalia, Artemis, Luke, Orion, Westport or Connecticut (although I do live in Connecticut so I guess I own a part of it... I sadly do not like in Westport though)

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Love and Loss

Thalia stirred in her sleeping bag. She turned onto her back and was vaguely aware of the light behind her eyelids. That signified it was morning and time to get up. She sighed and sat up. In her tent the other hunters were still asleep. As quietly as possible she got up and grabbed a fresh pair of clothes. She quickly changed into them and stepped outside into the cool morning air.

She knew it was her morning to find something to eat but before she did something in the back of her mind told her to find out the date.

She made her way through the forest to the nearest town. She didn't know exactly where she was, she knew that they were somewhere in Connecticut. She located the post office and looked for a newspaper dispenser. She finally found one along the back wall. She looked on the front for the date and froze when she found it.

It was the 22nd, May 22nd to be exact. Reading those three letters and two numbers made her heart skip a beat and then stop. She turned and ran back to the campsite as fast as her legs would carry her. She stopped only once to collect some berries for breakfast.

That day all the hunters knew something was up with her. Thalia was usually ordering people around, aimlessly shooting arrows or making sarcastic remarks. Today she just seemed to go through the motions of being a hunter. From fixing breakfast to taking down and pitching their tents to even hunting, her heart just wasn't into it and her head was elsewhere.

That night as soon as Apollo's chariot was out of sight and the world became pitch black with only the stars as light she snuck out of camp, thankfully unnoticed by the rest.

She ran through the forest and although she didn't know her exact location, she knew that Connecticut was a small state and so she couldn't be very far away for Westport. She finally stumbled out of the woods and into a familiar back yard. From here she knew it was just a few minutes' walk to her destination. She started to run and soon the open field opened up in front of her. She stepped through the gates of the cemetery, carful to look out for any security and made her way to the very back and down a small path.

Clearly no one had been down it in a long time as it was becoming over run with plants and root. At the end of the trail was a bush that had overgrown and covered the entrance to the clearing. She fought her way through it and climbed out on the other side. There in the clearing was a tombstone. All alone as Luke is currently the only known demi-god from Westport, Connecticut.

She knelt by the tombstone, tears trickling down her face. They left a wet trail that reflected off the moon. Her eyes showed a thousand different emotions, her body wracking with silent sobs. The moon gleamed proudly above her, reminding her all the more of her choice, and regret stabbed at her heart.

Even now, three years later, the emotions and thoughts she first had when she had heard the news he was dead were fresh in her mind.

_Why? _She thought as she cried, she could have stopped him, if she had tried harder maybe she could have gotten through to him. She could have convinced him this whole thing was stupid and that he should leave Kronos's side and come back to camp half-blood with her. They could have worked together to bring more respect to the children of minor Gods. She could have convinced him that his father really did love him.

Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Instead that day she had declined his offer to join him, pushed him off a cliff and joined the hunt. She knew that not joining him was the right thing to do, but still the only one of those things she didn't regret was joining the hunt.

Sure she has friends at camp, but she had been a tree for years. She was still partly an outsider there, and to add to that she was Zeus's daughter, the king of the Gods, that doesn't really help when trying to blend in. She still wondered though, if she had gotten through to him, if there had been no war, if he was still alive, would she be in the hunt? Sure she had guy friends like Percy and Nico but she didn't love any of them as anything more than a brother, and that had made her choice to join easy.

She had loved Luke though. She was sure of it, sure they were twelve and fourteen but she knew there was something between them. She also knew that Luke felt it too because if he didn't he wouldn't have pleaded for her to join him and he probably would have killed her as well. Now he was dead, only she wasn't entirely sure her love for him died with him. Sure she was in the hunt and sworn off boys, but that doesn't mean she couldn't still have slight feelings for an old love, especially one that was dead right?

She sighed and looked at the tombstone again, ready for another round of sobs. When she felt the tears coming she heard the bush behind her shake. She whipped around and in seconds had an arrow ready to fire. She kept her stance until a girl who looked about 12 stumbled out of the bush and into the clearing. The girl removed the leaves stuck in her hair and smoothed her clothes. When Thalia recognized her she relaxed slightly.

"Lady Artemis what are you doing out here?" Artemis almost never left the hunters unless it was an emergency, and Thalia was pretty sure her leaving for an hour wasn't that important.

"I'm looking for you" she said kneeling beside the hunter. She glanced at the tombstone, reading it quickly and then back at the girl and noted her red eyes and tear streaked face. "You still miss him don't you?" she asked placing a hand on Thalia's shoulder. All the hunter could do was nod before she started to cry quietly again. Artemis sighed and looked at the girl. "…And you still love him don't you." This caused the girl to blush and cry even harder and Artemis knew that she hit a nerve. She was probably afraid she would get kicked out, or she didn't care and was just overcome with grief, most likely both. Thalia was still crying hard and Artemis noted one thing. Thalia was tough; she rarely cried or showed any sign of weakness, when she did you knew it must be really important.

"I-I'm sorry" Thalia finally managed to choke out. "I shouldn't have left the camp, it's just…" and she broke out into another round of sobs.

"Just what?" asked Artemis, staring up at the star filled sky.

"…Today was his birthday; he would have been twenty-five" Thalia managed to sit up a little and wipe her eyes. She looked over at the Goddess, her shape blurry from the tears that were still in her eyes. Artemis was still staring at the sky, Thalia followed her gaze and found herself staring at Orion's constellation.

"I know what it's like to lose someone you love as more than just a friend." She sighed at looked over at the hunter. "At least you didn't kill him yourself, it's even worse when you know you're responsible for it." Thalia started to say how if she has tried harder she could have convinced him to come back and so indirectly she did kill him but the Goddess cut her off. "There was nothing you could do, he was too angry and in too deep with Kronos, and if he had come back to camp it wouldn't have been the same." Sadly, Thalia knew it was true. There would have been a lot of tension between him and everyone else.

She sighed and stared at the stars. They just sat there for a while in silence, remembering the feeling of the worst thing a hunter can feel, love.

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Alright so what did you think? Tell me by reviewing! and two more things

1: I wasn't sure if Luke's birthday was mentioned so if anyone knows the correct day just let me know and I'll change it

2: For any of you who read My Word I swear on the river Styx I will update next week *thunder rumbles* For any who read I Wish I Knew the Father I know I really need to update that one but I swear the chapter I'm currently working on is going to be super long and for any who read Awkward Confrontations I really need an idea for another demi- god to write about. So even if you don't read that story can someone suggest a demi-god for me to write about that's not Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia or Luke. Okay thanks.

So I think that's everything I wanted to say. I hope you have enjoyed this one-shot, until next time,  
Peace, Love and Broadway :) -DaughterofApollo13


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